BP said Monday it has made an initial deposit of $3 billion into a $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill after the oil company finalized negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice. Get the full story »
Filed under: Green
Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
Broadwind Energy’s 2Q loss widens
Broadwind Energy Inc.’s second-quarter loss widened on myriad charges and year-ago gains while wind-turbine installations stalled in the U.S. The supplier of products and services now sees 2010 revenue of $140 million to $160 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently estimated $206 million on average. Get the full story »
BP may still drill in Gulf reservoir that blew
BP said Friday it might someday drill again into the same lucrative undersea pocket of oil that spilled millions of gallons of crude, wrecked livelihoods and fouled beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. “There’s lots of oil and gas here,” Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said at a news briefing. “We’re going to have to think about what to do with that at some point.”
Starbucks testing green coffee in summer drinks
Starbucks Corp. began testing summer drinks with a base of green, unroasted coffee this week as it works on new products to drive sales and differentiate itself from rivals like McDonald’s Corp .
The drinks, called “Refreshers,” will be sold at 113 company-operated cafes around San Diego and priced from $2.50 to $2.95. Starbucks’ vice president of global beverage, Julie Felss Masino, said they are made of fruit and low in calories and caffeine.
Ingredients include a “flavor neutral” powdered extract made from unroasted green coffee and formulated to have less of a caffeine kick than regular coffee, she said. “It’s coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee,” she said. Get the full story »
Aug. 6, 2010 at 10:05 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Energy, Environment, Management, Stock activity BP stock gains ground, but major resistance looms
Shares in BP rose 1.2 percent in London on Friday, taking their bounce since the near 14-year low in June to 45 percent, lifted by the group’s latest progress in plugging the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Get the full story »
US Energy Dept. alters FutureGen plans in Illinois
The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that it has dropped its long-running plans to build a futuristic power plant in eastern Illinois and will instead use the site for the storage of carbon dioxide produced by another Illinois power plant. The so-called FutureGen project originally was to include an experimental coal-fired power plant near Mattoon. Carbon dioxide from burning the coal would have been stored underground.
Hines sells River North tower to KBS Realty
Real estate firm Hines has sold its 60-story building in River North to KBS Realty Advisors LLC , a California-based investment firm.
Terms weren’t disclosed.
Hines, which developed the LEED-certified building in 2009, said it will continue to manage the property on 300 N. LaSalle St., which is home to various financial firms.
Officials from KBS weren’t immediately available for comment.
BP’s Tony Hayward defends decisions
From The Wall Street Journal | In his first interview after agreeing to step down from the top spot at oil giant BP this week, Tony Hayward defended his choices during the oil spill crisis, saying he ” became a villain for doing the right thing.” Get the full story »
U.S. launches criminal probe into Gulf oil spill
Several U.S. agencies are preparing a criminal probe of at least three companies involved in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, though it could take more than a year before any charges are filed, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
BP Plc, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. are the initial targets of the wide-ranging probe, which aims “to examine whether their cozy relations with federal regulators contributed to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico,” the newspaper said, citing law enforcement and other sources. Get the full story »
July 27, 2010 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under: Environment, Housing, Insurance, Policy, Politics, Small business State offers low-interest loans to flood victims
The state of Illinois is offering low-interest disaster recovery loans for residents and businesses in northern Illinois that suffered damage from last weekend’s severe storms.
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn declared 12 northern Illinois counties disaster areas, after heavy storms on Saturday led to major flooding and property damage to many buildings and homes. The declaration means residents and business owners are eligible for below-market interest rates through participating lenders that they can use to finance repairs.
As of Tuesday, loan rates would be no more than 3.5 percent, according to Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the loan program. Get the full story »
CFTC approves CME’s Green Exchange
CME Group Inc.’s Green Exchange LLC won regulatory approval as a designated contract market on Friday, adding a fourth regulated exchange to CME’s stable. Get the full story »
Korea to bankroll ’smart’ Chicago skyscrapers
By dimming lights or lowering water temperature on a massive scale, the owners of some of Chicago’s signature skyscrapers are banking on new technology that would dramatically cut the city’s energy usage and save millions of dollars.
The technology is being bankrolled by an unusual source: The Republic of Korea, which, under a complex agreement to be signed today, has agreed to install energy-saving equipment in up to 14 Chicago buildings during the next few months. Korean officials have pledged to pay millions to Illinois colleges for research and development efforts related to “smart grid” technology. Get the full story »
BP to test new cap on leaking Gulf well
A BP official is praising the successful attachment of a new sealing cap on the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. But he cautioned that the testing of the cap to begin Tuesday morning will determine whether the new effort can successfully shut down the well. Get the full story »
BP: Systems caught 24,395 barrels of oil Thursday
BP said Friday it is hooking up a third vessel to increase oil-capture capacity at the Gulf of Mexico spill to 53,000 barrels a day from 28,000 barrels a day.
BP spokesman Mark Proegler said that increased capture should start “in a couple of days.”
BP also said its current oil-capture systems at the leak collected or burned off 24,395 barrels of oil Thursday.
Solar plane completes historic 24-hour test flight
An experimental solar-powered plane completed its first 24-hour test flight successfully Thursday, proving that the aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay aloft all night. The test brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its goal of circling the globe using only energy from the sun.
